The Impact of Active Listening in Group Dynamics

INTRODUCTION OF THE RELATIONAL/ INTERPERSONAL CHALLENGE:

Leaders are often faced with relational or interpersonal challenge in their professional lives. The main aim of the paper revolves around the study and analysis of active listening as a tool to bring an impact on the interpersonal and communication interactions between the different social groups. it has been observed that active listening is among other concepts centered to psychology or other fields of studies and society. Majority of people do not understand the importance of active listening in business and society. Effective listening plays an important role in different social groups where diversity can play a major hassle in problem solving. Active listening would enable the different members of dynamic groups. It would help the groups to overcome the problems occur during understanding the communication, interaction and developing relations with one another. Active listening also plays an important role in bringing the groups together for better decision making and problem solving issues (Levi, 2001).

RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH:

The research of the results show that active listening plays an important role in bridging the gap between the employees from different social or ethnic backgrounds. Active listening is the key trait of social intelligence (Lang et al, 2000). Active listening helps a group to understand the emotions, feelings and develop interactions with other employees. It has been observed that people within a group dynamics need to play the role of active listeners in order to attain the levels of success by developing highest level of interaction and communication as well as by developing highest level of engagement (Gordon, 1977). Social intelligence plays a key role in developing active listening trait. Active listening can be learnt as a skill to overcome the problems one can be facing. It helps in building long term relationships with the other employees, customers, management, social groups and within the communities or other groups. Active listening helps in thinking strategically. It helps a person to become a problem-solver and a brilliant innovator. Social intelligence enables an individual within a group to listen actively, comprehend , retain and respond. As a result, it reflects the mental state of the person (Reed, 1985).

IMPACT OF THE RELATIONAL/ INTERPERSONAL CHALLENGE:

Active listening plays an important role within group dynamics. It helps every individual to understand actively, to participate and respond to the feedback. Active listening helps an individual to overcome the problems that create hurdles in the understanding of the certain things, developing cross-cultural communications, resolving conflict and building trust. It also helps in improving organizational performance by developing better decision making and adopting problem solving attitude. By active listening, certain group dynamics can overcome their problem of understanding and they can comprehend easily, if they actively listen to their team leader (Atwater, 1981). Another important benefit of active listening is the increase in competition (Derber, 1979). Active listening increases competition among the employees in a certain group. The one who understands well would be the one who would be engaged in actively listening and as a result, this person would show greater results as compare to others.

RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES:

There are different techniques and strategies to enhance active listening in order to overcome the interpersonal and interaction relations between the different social groups. Active listening means paying attention to what someone is saying and processing the information in mind. These strategies can be categorized on how the listener processes the information in his mind, how he perceives the meaning behind what is being said to him and how he understands and interpret the underlying meanings of those words. Listening is an essential communication behavior. Some of the important active listening strategies may include:

- The purpose of listening should be made clearer in the minds of groups.

- Active participation and contribution of each member of the group in discussion.

- Active listening can be enhanced within a certain group by creating active engagement of each group individual and by asking them to motivate the other individuals within the group to actively participate and listen to the other group members with silence. Silence is the key to active listening.

STRATEGIES THAT